WORCESTER — The state Department of Conservation and Recreation has apologized for locking members of the city's high school crew team in Quinsigamond State Park Tuesday evening and is investigating the incident, schools Superintendent Melinda J. Boone said Wednesday afternoon.

"The supervisor is conducting a full investigation, and we're hoping to hear something later today or tomorrow," she said. "They have apologized and said the folks should not have been locked in… We're going to certainly work to resolve the situation so that it works for the state and the lake as well as our team."

Tuesday's practice had run late, said Joseph P. Reilly, a parent volunteer with the team, and apparently whoever was in charge of locking the gate did not wait. The answering machine at the park states it is open until 5:30 p.m. daily, and when Mr. Reilly was ready to leave at 5:38 p.m., the gate was closed.

"There's no way the guy didn't see the five cars and 30 people," Mr. Reilly said.

Still, he would rather find a solution than cast blame, he said. "We've already told them, for the 15 minutes extra, we'll take the responsibility for making sure the park gets closed."

Lawrence E. Johnson, whose son Samuel is on the team, echoed those sentiments. "I really feel bad about this employee, because I know him, and he's not a mean person," Mr. Johnson said.

"The underlying issue is actually access for the high school crew team. We had this problem last year," he said. "They don't keep the park open late enough for us to get a decent practice in."

Students arrive at the boathouse at 3:30 p.m., but the boats aren't all in the water until about 4 or 4:30 p.m., he said. That gives them around an hour for practice.

Last year, parents called state representatives and got the park to stay open until 6 p.m. and then 6:30 p.m. Mr. Johnson had already started making those calls again.

Tuesday's incident also rankled Mr. Reilly because of the work he and the team have put into the site. Students have raked leaves and picked up trash, and Mr. Reilly has been gathering materials since December to improve the docks.

Someone called School Committee member Dianna L. Biancheria about the problem, and she called police and went down to the lake. Eventually, a University of Massachusetts police came with the key, she said.

Ms. Boone said Mr. Shea has been in touch with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which owns the park and is looking into the incident.

Mr. Reilly said that on another occasion this spring, a girl was locked in the bathroom for a minute or two until she used her cell phone to call someone still in the park. A week ago, another parent was locked in the park, according to Mr. Johnson.

The state DCR did not immediately return phone and e-mail requests for comment.

Contact Jacqueline Reis via email at jreis@telegram.com and follow her on Twitter @JackieReisTG.